State v. Williams’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

40 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 40 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Constructive possession exists where a defendant does not have actual physical possession of contraband but knows of its presence on or about his premises and has the ability to exercise dominion and control over it. Mere proximity to contraband, standing alone, is insufficient to establish constructive possession of the substance. The state must present independent proof of the defendant’s knowledge and ability to control the contraband.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 174 So. 3d 460 - R.C.R., a Child v. State of Florida

2. “If the State has presented competent evidence to establish every element of the crime, then a judgment of acquittal is improper.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 940 So. 2d 1259 - State v. Burrows

3. “consider the evidence and all reasonable inferences from the evidence in a light most favorable to the [S]tate.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 940 So. 2d 1259 - State v. Burrows